Paint
the town red, figuratively and literally in this urban
based grafitti treat from The Collective and Atari.
by Cole Smith

February
16, 2006 - Here's
another game for middle-class white kids to express
their hostilities as they defend their turf against
rival gangs in the mean streets of a town without
pity. This teenage, urban angst is expressed through
various rebellious acts against anything that represents
any kind of authority. That includes brick walls that
silently impose boundaries but can be sprayed with
graffiti to teach them a lesson.

Don't
get me wrong. Getting Up is a fun game and it's much
better for kids to express themselves in the virtual
world than in the real world. I realize that gang
life can be an irresistible draw to some kids but
hopefully most kids will get their rocks off by living
large vicariously through games like this. We all
hate wannabes but you won't be hurting anyone by playing
games like this and you won't end up in the big house
either. (Editor - What Cole is really saying
is that he hopes you punks will be preoccupied playing
games like Getting Up instead of smashing his head
in at the ATM at 3:00 am - Vaughn)

Trane
is the main man in this game. He's a proficient tagger
and is determined to make a name for himself - even
if it means spraying it on billboards and in subway
stations. There's a good storyline to the game that,
while including plenty of cliches, manages to spin
an interesting plot with realistic characters and
plenty of unpredictable twists and turns.

New
Radius is a pseudonym for a futuristic New York City.
The mayor has clamped down on crime but in the process
has limited the freedom of many of its inhabitants.
The jack-booted militia known as the CCK are in full
force, enforcing the rules and cracking skulls. Facing
this regime as well as regular cops and rival gang
members known as the Vandals of New Radius, Trane
will have to employ stealth, combat and quick reflexes
as he pulls off various missions to "paint the
town."

What
exactly motivates Trane to do what he does? First
and foremost he's an artist. As a tagger, he expresses
himself, while gaining rep points which are used to
unlock or purchase various items. Throughout the game
he learns new truths which he feels compelled to share
with the public through this powerful medium. His
adventures eventually bring him to protesting against
the government as he uncovers deep and dark conspiracies.

Every
tag is a race against time as you never know who or
what will try to stop you. You will learn more about
Trane, and the unusual circumstances involving his
grand entrance, as the game progresses.

Getting
messages across on a variety of surfaces is the basic
premise of the game but there's so much more to it
than that. Just getting to the locations is part of
the battle. Not to mention that there are actual battles
in which you will use combat-style moves. Most of
the missions revolve around putting up poster, murals
in addition to spraying graffiti in selected areas.
Most of these places are dangerous, as there might
be guards, police or rival gang members in the area.
Your job is to get in, get up, and get out safely.

Once
you approach an area you may have to take care of
patrolling enemies. You can do this by sneaking up
on them and whacking them with a paint can. This is
a stealth kill. If you manage to get spotted you will
have to resort to hand-to-hand combat. New combat
moves are available as you earn more rep points.

Various
skills are required to reach your painting area. You
might have to climb pipes, perform wall jumps and
shimmy down ledges. Scaling these heights requires
puzzle-solving and platforming skills. The controls
are very forgiving which makes platforming a breeze
and the puzzles are straightforward and relatively
easy to figure out. Everything you need is always
within reach and easy to use. Things could be a bit
more challenging but at least the gameplay flows.

The
act of painting is quite easy but you have to get
faster at it as you go. You will be under a time limit
to complete each tag. When you arrive at the area,
there will be an outline for you to fill in. You can
change some parameters of it such as the size and
shape but ultimately you have to fill it in with paint.
Get your can out and press the button to release the
color from the can. One thing you have to remember
is to keep moving your painting arm so as to avoid
drips. If you keep it in one spot too long you'll
accumulate too much paint in one area and produce
drips. Having drips, failure to beat the time limit,
and not making the tag large enough will result in
fewer rep points. These rep points will unlock skills
that can make you paint faster and more accurately
as well as increase other skills such as the ability
to inflict more damage through the use of weapons
and hand-to-hand combat.

It's
obvious that you're going to need these rep points
to get through future missions which are going to
get more difficult so it's imperative that you do
your best when you're tagging. Once your masterpiece
has been completed you have to get yourself out of
the area. You'll face the same challenges getting
out as you did getting in.

You
don't have any super moves, the developers have decided
that "keeping it real," would give the game
more credibility, which is essential when dealing
with street-savvy gamers. There is lots of gameplay
variation. It's so well incorporated into the missions
that it never seems repetitive. Every situation is
unique and is important to the success or failure
of the missions. This isn't just about tagging, and
hopefully a lot of potential gamers will not overlook
that fact when they first hear about this game.

Getting
Up has a cohesive look to it that is very stylish.
The decaying urban environments mesh seamlessly with
trendy hip-hop fashions. Virtually every scene looks
like it could be a location for a video shoot. Speaking
of which, the game features the voice talents of Diddy,
Adam West and Talib Kweli as the voice of Trane. The
music reflects the street 'tude with rappers Rhymefest
and Rakin to name a few. It's an aural and visual
feast for hip hop fans everywhere.

Getting
up will take a few days to complete but once your
job is done it's time to move on. While I highly recommend
playing this game, I also highly recommend renting
it as you're not likely to want to paint over old
territory.

Features:

World
famous hip-hop artist Talib Kweli as the voice for
lead-character, Trane

A
revolutionary, deep storyline written by Marc Ecko
poses the question "What if graffiti could
change the world?," demonstrating the struggle
against authority while seeking to save a neighborhood
from an oppressive city government

Authentic
tags from more than 50 actual graffiti artists from
all over the world - six of whom are characters
in the game including Cope 2, FUTURA, OBEY: Shepard
Fairey, Seen, Smith and T-kid and will teach Trane
their specialties to add to his arsenal of graffiti
tools

11
distinct metropolis-style environments of New Radius
with 20 levels to complete

Revolutionary
graffiti gameplay system designed to hone your skills
as you get your message up. New Radius is your canvas
as you tag with Aerosol, Rollers, Markers, Wheat
Paste, Stickers and Stencils

Ability
to use a variety of different graffiti tags, including
stencils, stickers, posters and throw-ups

Graffiti
intuition system which allows Trane to locate ideal
places to tag within each environment

A
digital "black book" to unlock new tags
and abilities, and store pictures and tags of graffiti
legends Trane encounters along the way

Extremely
responsive enemy A.I. mechanics

Lessons
in graffiti evolution - watch Trane grow from "toy"
to "All City King" as his graffiti style
and the state of graffiti in New Radius evolve over
the course of the game. Start in a 1980's train
culture scene where subways were prime targets for
gaining fame and continue to an exaggerated version
of the silver-train era when "Take Back the
City" was the city's battle cry, and extreme
use of anti-graffiti tactics was rampant.

ByCole
SmithCCC
Senior Writer

Rating
out of 5

Marc
Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure
(PS2)

4.5

GraphicsGritty,
yet fashionable. The environments can get
large, but it also comes with a little slowdown.

4.2

ControlThe
controls are just a little too easy and
forgiving.

4.6

Music
/ Sound FX / Voice ActingExcellent
voiceacting and an appropriate hip hop soundtrack
give this games vibes for days.

3.0

Play
ValueThe
vibes last longer than the game. You'll
finish it in about 15 hours and there's
little incentive to revisit the scene of
the crime.

4.4

Overall
Rating -
Great
Not an average. See Rating legend above
for a final score breakdown.